Posts in the Military Romance genre

In the beginning, I was the only one in my family that sewed. I loved embroidering, cross-stitching, and rug hooking. I loved getting needlework pictures and pillowcases to embroider when I was a kid. They were some of my favorite Christmas presents.

My mother had an old Kenmore sewing machine that was horrible to sew on, so when I took home economics in junior high they had Singer sewing machines. Oh my gosh, what a world of difference they made! I had to sew two dresses, and had to wear one for a fashion show. I think I was the only one in class who didn’t have a mother who sewed, which meant I was strictly on my own, while the other girls took their projects home so their mothers could help them with them. Not me!

Years later, my folks had received tons of needlepoint I’d sent them. Quilts, hand-hooked rugs, and other embroidery projects. After a while, no one had any room for them! I began making cloth dolls and rabbits to sell at crafts fairs. My parents had started to create fancy doll carriages and other furniture for doll collectors, and they asked me to make an old-time teddy bear to display on their furniture.

That was the beginning. My first bears sold at the Dallas Trade Center to shops all over. They’ve been featured in magazines including: Texas Monthly, Texas Co-op Monthly, Teddy Bear Review Magazine, The MacNeill Galley, and newspapers. They were included in The International Teddy Bear Connection.

Haley Wagner’s life just got a lot more complicated. As if turning her struggling ranch around isn’t tough enough, she’s forced to call him for help. With his hard eyes and even harder body, Cord is an irritatingly sexy contradiction of hot and cold. How can she possibly hide her embarrassing secret when just looking at Cord is a combustible event?

Former Army Ranger Cord Brannigan has a secret, too. He promised his fallen teammate he’d protect the tempting, fiercely independent Haley—from a distance, but now they’re stuck together for three weeks. Alone. Keeping his hands off will take every ounce of control he can muster. And that control is slipping…

Now onto the guest post!

A big thank you to EverAfter Romance for giving me the opportunity to share my favorite books from my author, Jill Shalvis. It’s no secret that she is my idol. I love to read many romance genres, but my favorite are humorous romances packed with heat and heart that feature realistic characters. Jill delivers every time. It was not easy narrowing the list down, but I did. Here is the list in no particular order:

Lucky in Love– Lucky Harbor Series

Jill combines a very hot former Navy SEAL in town to heal from injuries from an op that claimed his team, with a caring nurse who doesn’t know how to put herself first, and is on a quest to have fling with Mr. Wrong. Obviously they have what the other needs, and help each other like who they are. It’s the book I pick up when I need a pick me up.

Rumor Has It – Animal Attraction Series

Oh wow. This story never fails to amaze me. Each time I read it I discover some nuance Jill layered in there. To me, it’s a masterpiece. Her hero is former Spec Ops back in his hometown recuperating from war injuries, dealing with his estranged father, and his newly discovered attraction to his sister’s best friend. The heroine is a grade school teacher who has always had a crush on him, does everything for her family, and is prone to spouting inane facts when she’s nervous. Love, love, love this story. Note to self: read this over the weekend.

Instant Temptation – Wilder Series

Ah, T.J. What a hero. He’s an adventure guide in the family’s adventure business who would rather be outdoors than deal with the paperwork part of the business. His raw sexapeal appeals to a former classmate who remembers an encounter that he doesn’t. When I want to read a hero that is exceedingly hot, I pick up this book. I’d also like to note that the second book in this series: Instant Gratification has the BEST opening scene I have read, yet! Her hero is funny, sexy, and out of his element because he needs medical attention, but the doctor is a beautiful woman he’s attracted to. I can’t encourage you enough to go check it out. You’d probably be able to read it for free on Amazon.

Animal Magnetism – Animal Magnetism Series

This book not only has a hot, alpha hero who makes me swoon, it has my favorite heroine of Jill’s. She’s quirky, travels to her own tune, helps animals, and bemuses the hero on several occasions. I couldn’t wait to see what she did to him next and devoured the book in one sitting. I read it as a treat to myself whenever I need one.

The Trouble with Mistletoe – Heartbreaker Bay Series

With heat, humor, and heart packed in a holiday book, it was a sure thing for me to love. The hero is still handsome but he’s changed since high school, and even more appealing to the heroine who remembers his more arrogant days. The attraction and characters keep me reading well into the night. And I can’t wait to see this story on TV when Passionflix turns into a small series this December!!

So, there you go. My top 5 Jill Shalvis books. If you haven’t ready them, I hope you’ll change that very soon. You won’t be disappointed. And if you’re looking for another hot, humorous, heartwarming read, I hope you’ll check out my brand new release, The Right Ranger. I had fun writing this hero. He resembles Jensen Ackles, is always in control, and buried his feelings for his friend for so long that when they surface and won’t go away, he’s knocked off balance and forced to face a few truths, and stake a claim on the woman who rocks his world.

If you read Jill, I’d love to know some of your favorites!

Thanks for reading,

~Donna

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

It’s all my mother’s fault. She read to me when I was little and sparked my imagination. Now, my mind is the limit, and believe me, there’s no limit to my mind. Hello, I’m Donna Michaels, NYT & USA Today Bestselling Award winning author of Romaginative fiction. I write romance through the H’s—Hot, Humorous, Heartwarming reads with strong alpha cowboys and military men who are equally matched by their heroines. With a husband in the military fulltime, four children—some still at home, and several rescued cats, I never run out of material. From short to epic, my books entertain readers across a variety of sub-genres, and one has even been hand drawn into a Japanese Translation. Now, if only I could read it…

From the very first time hubby and I visited New Orleans and met a man wearing a set of permanently attached vampire fangs, we knew the city was a little different…in the best possible way. You spend any time at all in NOLA and you can’t help but pick up one simple fact—New Orleans is special. There’s an ambience there that’s hard to find anywhere else we’ve ever been.

Walking around the city, you can feel the age and history of the place, see all the unique people and cultures coming together to create an amazing melting pot where you can imagine nearly anything being possible. And if by some chance you’re looking for a place to base a paranormal story, you’d be hard pressed to do better than New Orleans where you can practically feel the magic in the air the second you walk down the street.

So, when we started writing the Special Wolf Alpha Team (SWAT) Series about a pack of sexy alpha werewolves working as SWAT officers in the Dallas Police Department, we knew we had to give one of those characters a New Orleans backstory. A werewolf from New Orleans? There should probably be a law requiring it!

When we began writing WOLF HUNT, the newest book in the Special Wolf Alpha Team (SWAT) Series, it was amazing how quickly the city itself sucks you in. Typically, you have to dedicate a couple pages to setting up the city environment a story takes place in, but with New Orleans, all you have to do is toss in a few words like Bourbon Street, jazz and blues, Mississippi River, beignet and chicory coffee, and BAM (see what I did there all you Emeril Lagasse fans!) the reader is instantly transported there with the hero and heroine.

In WOLF HUNT, werewolf hero Remy Boudreaux goes back home to face his past, and reunites with his high school crush, Triana Bellamy. The city quickly becomes a supporting character in their romance as a hurricane slowly moves toward the city, tossing their hearts around much the same way it does the muddy waters of the Mississippi.

You could never get that kind of background feeling in another city. New Orleans made WOLF HUNT a book you’ll have a hard time putting down, and an even harder one forgetting.

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GIVEAWAY DETAILS AT THE END

To keep her safe, he’ll have to uncover all her secrets…

Rayne Alexander. A face I never thought I’d see again, and one I never could forget. Nine years ago, she left town–and me–without a backward glance. But now she’s back, with a haunted look in her eyes and a feisty attitude that didn’t exist when we were teenagers. Seeing this grown-up–and sexy–Rayne is something I wasn’t prepared for… and it’s bringing up feelings I’d thought I’d buried years ago.

Although I want to demand answers from Rayne, working on black ops at Night Eagle Security has taught me that it’s sometimes better to keep my mouth shut. So when I catch her hiding a photo of a little boy, I’m curious. When I see her jump as her phone rings, I’m concerned. But the second I notice a car following her home, I know she’s hiding something. Something dangerous. And while I may not know why she left or why she’s back, if there’s someone out there Rayne is afraid of, I’ll make damn sure that threat is eliminated.

Even when I tell it not to, my body reacts to Rayne. Every time she pulls her lip between her teeth. Every time her midnight blue eyes meet mine and smolder with some unseen emotion. Every single time I see a peek of the perky breasts that were really nice in high school, but are just spectacular now.

And I’m having a more difficult time every day hiding the way my stomach clenches when she checks her phone with that look of fear on her face.

It’s at one of these times that I don’t fight the pull and stalk toward her desk.

Snatching the phone from her hand, I read the text that put the disturbed expression in her eyes.

“Jeremy! What the fuck?”

Ignoring her pissed-off shout, my eyes narrow and my teeth clamp shut when I read the words on her screen.

Phoenix /fēniks/: (in classical mythology) a unique bird inhabiting the Arabian Desert that burned itself on a funeral pyre before rising from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle.

This isn’t mythology, it’s war, and Hendy is left in the hands of Hell’s cruelest gatekeepers.

His team is killed before his very eyes, and despite his efforts to save them, he’s captured and subjected to merciless torture—losing virtually every piece of his identity but his pulse.

After his rescue, he returns home from Afghanistan, saddled with facing the daunting task of healing his physical scars as well as the invisible ones—his emotional demons.

Dr. Presley Cole isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. Embarking on a new journey, she makes it her mission to prove to Hendy that his life isn’t over; that he’s worthy of love.

Because sometimes even a phoenix needs help to rise… Out of the Ashes.

Check out an exclusive excerpt below!

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

Bethesda, Maryland

Hendy

Two months later

I could hear the voices at the doorway of my hospital room, and while I recognized both, one of them stood out.

One of them caught me off guard.

That same voice elicited anticipation from within me. I’d never gotten serious about any woman, but she was one I thought might have potential, the only one I could see myself getting serious with.

As an author, I spend a lot of time with my heroes. A lot of time. So they’d better be pretty amazing to keep my attention. I like my men to be smart, skilled, respectful, and the good-looking part goes without saying. I find nothing embodies the kind of guy I want to write (and read) about better than a US military special operator. A SEAL, a guy from Delta Force? Mmm hmm. Yes, please.

And in my books, why settle for just one? I prefer they work together on a team of hunky, competence.

Here’s a scene from my newest novel, WASP, as Gage Hamilton, an elite Marine Ranger, is meeting some of his future teammates on Panther Force after they just saved Zoe from the bad guys:

Gage growled. He was eye to eye with the man who tried to shoot his way into the house to get to Zoe. Gage was palpably seething with violence, and she thought he was having a hard time stoppering it.

Titus patted him on the shoulder. “Stand down, Marine. Get Zoe into the car.”

Save a little time and scoot to the edge of your seat now, because we’ve got an exclusive excerpt of Heart Strike by M.L. Buchman that’s positively layered with intensity. Heart Strike is out tomorrow!

“Not my first rodeo.”

Richie answered with a waiting silence. How was it that he didn’t trust himself about people? With only the one notable exception, he’d judged her moods perfectly. And that one time was because he hadn’t listened to himself.

“I was forward deployed with the 101st Airborne,” she finally offered. “I was embedded with the ground teams to frisk and question women. Every now and then, they weren’t women beneath the robes but men in hiding. If they were dressed to hide, we knew they were Taliban, Al Qaeda, or worse. They would also be heavily armed. It was close a couple of times, but I was always faster than they were.”

“You were good back there. Damn good,” Richie remarked a few miles later.

And Melissa felt good. Normally a kill gave her the shakes, but this time it hadn’t. The man had been the worst sort. He’d rubbed his erection against Melissa’s ass the moment he’d grabbed her, and his hand had been headed south into her pants even as they stood there in front of everyone. Drug runner, street thug, and rapist.

We humans are social animals. We work better in groups: whether hunting on African plains (something I’ve never done) or brainstorming in a corporate meeting (something I’ve done far too much of). We are more effective when we work together.

Yet writing drives us into a corner and says, “Sit alone and write.”

They say it is the profession of introverts.

I’m beginning to think that it is rather a profession that creates introverts.

I was a much more social animal in the past. I’m not the wildly out-going sort, but I did enjoy dinner parties, going to movies or a party with friends, spending a day out on a sailboat with a merry group. Over the last few decades of writing, I’ve found myself more and more comfortable being alone and by myself. I no longer am energized by the crowd and the feeling of intense activity.

I didn’t get to college the traditional route. I joined the Army in 1995 because I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up and I figured the Army was a good way for me to get some money for college. Someday, I’d go to school.

I went to school. At night, on weekends, online. It took me 10 years to get my bachelor’s degree and it was because of the Army’s education initiatives. But it was nearly 18 years into my career when I first set foot on a college campus.

It was an alienating experience of the first order. I can’t speak for other veterans. I wasn’t a young woman or man coming back from war. I was older than my cohorts in graduate school by at least a decade, closer in age to my professors than my peers. In part, I think the age was only part of the reason for my sense of alienation.

The war and my role in the Army was a large part of it. Academia is well known for it’s left leaning political views and in that, my graduate school experience was no surprise. I remember many friendly arguments about who joins the Army and why – whether military service members are just the idiots who can’t or won’t go to college or whether there is a deeper motivation to being willing to serve. We argued about the role of sexual assault in the military and I grew tired of fielding the same questions: were you ever sexually assaulted? What’s it like being in an organization like that?

Thanks to movies there are plenty of super-powered dreamboats in tight spandex to fantasize about. Need a hero that’s sweet and charming? Captain America will sweep you off your feet and then shyly invite you out for a malted milkshake. The Hulk will save you from an explosion and then ask you what your favorite books are. Looking for someone with a big attitude (and an even bigger bank account)? Batman and Iron Man will disarm a bomb and buy you a hotel just for kicksin the same day. But what about real heroes? The amazing Susan Stoker’s here with 10 amazing reasons to love the Delta Force and NAVY Seals.